Menu

Maine has many of the best canoe tripping rivers in the northeastern United States. The Allagash, St. John, Moose, St. Croix and East and West Branches of the Penobscot are probably the most famous. However, there are others worth considering. Canoe tripping was my introduction to paddle sports. I began with large northern Maine lakes […]

Many of the whitewater boaters that I paddle with began the sport thirty or forty years ago. Now, we’re in our sixties, seventies and a handful in their eighties. We’ve witnessed much of the evolution of the sport which first became popular nationally in the seventies. Many people including myself credit the whitewater adventures depicted […]

For many years, Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society (PPCS) members have organized an April whitewater weekend in New Hampshire. Normally, several excellent whitewater rivers and streams in the southern central part of the state open in April offering exciting early season paddling opportunities. Popular Class III/IV runs include Contoocook, Ashuelot, Otter, Warner and Smith. This […]

Souadabscook Stream is one of Maine’s most popular early spring whitewater runs. While most of it is located in Hampden, the source is a collection of small ponds in the Hermon area. Beginning with several miles of calm water and mild currents before arriving at Manning Mill Road, the stream then turns into a tumultuous […]

Skip and Jo Pendleton were members of the Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society (PPCS) for a couple of decades. After a 65 year marriage, they both passed away last year, just a few days apart. I didn’t know Jo very well as she was not active in club adventures. What I did know was that […]

Early spring is a time of transition for chowderheads in the Penobscot Paddle and Chowder Society (PPCS). Ice and snow are melting on the whitewater rivers; yet vestiges of winter remain at many preferred cross country ski areas. We often find ourselves in conflict about what choices to make. Since the coastal streams and rivers […]

A confession, I’m a recovering peak bagger. Defined as an attempt to reach the summit of a list of mountains, peak bagging is a great sport…if you can handle it responsibly. In New England, there are several popular mountain lists. Probably the most coveted goals are four thousand footers and the New England One Hundred […]

Just a couple of weeks ago, much of the snow had melted and it appeared an early spring was imminent. Two blockbuster storms later, we have excellent conditions for late winter cross country skiing throughout most of Maine. Mount Blue State Park offers one of the finest cross country skiing opportunities in western Maine. Located […]

When Sunday River is mentioned, I suspect most people think of the ski resort. Not me. Instead, the mountain Sunday River Whitecap immediately comes to mind. Sunday River Whitecap is not part of the collection of mountains that constitute the ski resort. Rather, it is located on the opposite side of Sunday River Valley about […]

Recent warm rainy weather has dramatically worsened ski conditions along the Maine coastal plain. Most of the quality snow is gone and ski areas like Pineland and Harris Farms have struggled to stay open. Enthusiastic about the Nordic ski workout and reluctant to let winter go, a dilemma for me has become to ski or […]

Posts navigation

Ron Chase

At age 70, Ron Chase is old. But, he’s not under the grass…yet. Retired from a career with the Internal Revenue Service, he has embarked on a new life as a freelance writer and tax consultant. Don’t be misled; in reality, he works a little and plays a lot. When not busy kayaking, canoeing, biking, mountain climbing and skiing, he sometimes finds time to write and assist his tax clients. A lifelong Mainer now living in Topsham, he is the recent author of The Great Mars Hill Bank Robbery, a biography of Vietnam War hero and bank robber Bernard Patterson.